In 2025, smartphone users spend an average of 3.6 hours daily in mobile applications, while browsers and search services account for less than 6% of device usage time. This shift is forcing brands to rethink their media plans: blogger advertising and in-app placements are becoming priorities, while traditional web banners are losing effectiveness. Global app downloads have reached approximately 150 billion, setting a historic record, making the in-app environment a key channel for building audience communication.
Web placements vs. in-app advertising: different objectives
Web advertising works with already-formed demand. A user comes to their browser with a specific need: to compare products, find reviews, or study specifications. Here, the brand addresses an existing need — driving traffic from search, collecting leads, and bringing visitors back to the website through retargeting.
Mobile applications solve a different problem: they create interest before the purchase moment. A person opens an app not to search, but to complete a specific scenario — watch a video, order food, play a game, or plan a workout. At this moment, a brand can create a first impression, boost recognition, and integrate itself into the audience's habitual behaviors.
Usage context: why apps are more effective for brands
The main advantage of mobile app advertising is its high level of context. When a user launches a fitness app, they're already interested in health, and sports apparel or supplement ads hit the mark at exactly the right moment. In a navigation service, a person is on the road — an offer for the nearest gas station or café becomes perfectly timely.
This context allows brands to consider not only socio-demographic parameters (age, gender, region), but also current behavior: which service the user is employing, what actions they're taking, and how close they are to the target action. Media buying in applications is built on understanding user scenarios, not just on reach numbers.
A user in an app completes a specific task, and advertising can become part of that scenario rather than an obstacle
Visibility and formats: efficiency metrics
According to Integral Ad Science, the average ad visibility rate in mobile applications in 2024 was 74.2%, compared to 68.4% in mobile web. The difference is explained by content consumption patterns: in apps, ad blocks more often occupy a noticeable screen area or use full-screen formats.
Brands gain access to a wide range of tools: video ads for product demonstrations, reward-based formats for voluntary viewing, game mechanics for engagement, and interactive ads for exploring offers without leaving the app. This makes it possible to tailor messaging to each stage of communication, rather than using a single universal banner for the entire audience.
How brands integrate mobile advertising into their strategy
An effective media plan distributes channels by objective: the web environment works with existing demand and search queries, mobile apps create demand and boost brand awareness. For brands launching influencer integrations or planning large-scale campaigns, it's important to remember that influencers' primary audience consumes content in apps — social networks, video platforms, and messengers.
A programmatic approach in the mobile environment allows brands to automate placements, optimize campaigns by KPI, and control inventory quality. A brand can not only gain reach, but build consistent communication: from first contact through video ads to repeated reminders via banners and incentives for app installation or purchase. For brands working with influencer marketing, this combination becomes especially effective: the ETC team when selecting influencers and planning integrations takes into account how advertising placements in applications will amplify reach and conversions from blogger content, building a unified scenario from brand awareness to the target action.
Frequently asked questions
How does in-app advertising differ from web banners
In-app advertising reaches users while they're completing a specific scenario, not while searching for information. This delivers higher visibility (74.2% vs. 68.4%), more engagement formats, and the ability to consider the app usage context.
Why do brands choose mobile apps for advertising
Users spend 3.6 hours daily in apps compared to less than 6% of their time in browsers. Apps allow brands to create demand before the purchase moment, boost recognition, and integrate into the audience's habitual scenarios using video, interactive, and game-based formats.
How do you combine in-app advertising with blogger partnerships
Influencers' primary audience consumes content in social media and video platform apps. Advertising in other apps amplifies the reach of influencer integrations, creating repeat touchpoints and increasing conversion to target actions.
In brief
- Users spend 3.6 hours daily in apps and less than 6% of their time in browsers — most content interaction happens in the in-app environment
- Web advertising works with existing demand, mobile apps create interest before the purchase moment
- Ad visibility in apps stands at 74.2% compared to 68.4% in mobile web
- App usage context allows brands to consider not only demographics but also current user actions and interests
- Format diversity — video, interactive, game mechanics — makes it possible to tailor messaging to each communication stage
- An effective media plan distributes channels by objective: web for search and leads, apps for awareness and engagement
- Combining mobile advertising with influencer marketing amplifies reach and conversions from blogger content
Want to see where the market is heading before your competitors do? The ETC team builds a media strategy and media plan for your niche — with reach forecasts and KPIs fixed in the contract.
